Piercefield town board asks state to get rid of railroad tracks

October 12, 2012

Tupper Lake wasn't the only town taking a stance on the Adirondack Scenic Rail corridor Thursday night.

The Piercefield town board's resolution was stronger than the one passed in Tupper Lake, though. While the Tupper Lake town board only supported the state opening up the rail corridor's unit management plan, Piercefield town councilors took it a step further and came out 3-2 in favor of taking out the railroad tracks and turning the corridor into a recreational trail.

Piercefield town Supervisor Neil Pickering said the vote came after talking about the issue for a bit.

"We've discussed it a couple of times in the past, but there was a fair amount of discussion" Thursday night, Pickering said.

He said board members ended up voting along the lines they had always maintained.

Pickering has in the past touted the potential for increased tourism and other economic development if a full recreational trail were to be created.

Councilors Carol Fuller and Marvin Pickering joined him in voting in favor of the resolution.

Larry Boeye and Lorraine Lewis voted against it.

Neil Pickering said Lewis is against the idea because she lives on the corridor.

"She realizes that it's going to be used a lot and just doesn't want to see that traffic in front of her property," Pickering told the Enterprise in a phone interview Thursday night.